JustServe volunteers to ‘Spruce Up Palmer Park’ Feb. 24

MADISON – On Feb. 24, the JustServe organization will conduct “Spruce Up Palmer Park” as its second quarterly project for the City of Madison.

JustServe.org allows organizations to post needs for volunteers, while guiding people to search and find a volunteer opening to serve the community.

“The Spruce Up Palmer Park project was created to ensure volunteer opportunities for families of all ages, students, athletes and teams to show their Madison City pride by helping,” Cathy Larsen said. Larsen serves as JustServe Specialist for the Greater Madison area.

Spruce Up Palmer Park will begin at 8:45 a.m. at the pavilion next to the Hand In Hand playground. Volunteers will divide into groups to ‘spruce up’ the park for spring.

The city will provide snacks and water. Volunteers are encouraged to visit JustServe.org to sign up for updates and more project information. The work will end around 1 p.m.

Volunteers will clean Palmer Park’s dugouts, scrub white vinyl fences, blow off walkways and sidewalks, install signs and sunscreens and clean upstairs in concession buildings. Larsen asks volunteers to bring rakes and brooms; clean, air-pump garden sprayers; and gas-powered blowers.

Last November, JustServe’s first quarterly project involved planting 1,600 trees in two water run-off ponds off Sullivan Street in Madison.

“On a day of beautiful weather, more than 30 people participated in the service project by planting the sapling trees in sometimes over two-foot deep water,” Larsen said. “Boats and plastic swimming pools came in handy to haul trees and equipment to planting areas, while citizens worked in companionships to achieve a rhythm for the work.”

Although the work was exhausting, everyone “had so much fun to see all that was accomplished in such a short amount of time. Gayle Milam and Gary Chynoweth, both Madison City employees, attended to expedite the project’s success. They were both extremely pleased with the turnout of volunteers and the work ethic with which they performed the tasks,” Larsen said.

For more information, call 256-772-2557 or visit justserve.org.